October / November 2004

REVIEWS

Paul Von Ward

GODS, GENES, AND
CONSCIOUSNESS: Nonhuman
Intervention in Human History
BY PAUL VON WARD
Hampton Roads Pub. Co., 2004,
411 pp., $14.95, ISBN: 1571743790.
Reviewed by Stephen Kierulff

Author Paul Von Ward and 33% of the American public believe that extraterrestrials have set foot on Planet Earth, but one does not have to credit that idea to benefit from Gods, Genes, and Consciousness, which entertains as it educates. This book, an alternative history of Western Civilization, asserts that the Judeo- Christian- Islamic tradition is based on a mistake. Von Ward argues that "Sin" and "Satan" were originally good (for humans, anyway), while the authoritarian JHVH (Jehovah, Yahweh) was not so good.

An engaging writer, Von Ward narrates the consequences of human contact with ABs (Advanced Beings) as if it were a rousing science fiction tale - but he feels it is not.

The author's goal is to end religiocide (the killing of the members of one religion by the adherents of another), to return human consciousness to naturalism (as opposed to supernaturalism, the misguided notion that gods exist in an otherworldly dimension), and to harmonize human activity with the needs of other species and the Earth. This is a tall order, for which he proposes a "new mythology" debunking allegiance to individual gods such as YHVH, Christ, and Allah.

Von Ward espouses the "perennial philosophy," spirituality that even a scientist can endorse, based on the concept that the Creative Forces which spawned the universe are manifest in each and all and everything.

No review can do justice to the breadth of Von Ward's reach. His book may become as popular as Immanuel Velikovsky's Worlds in Collision or Julian Jaynes' The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. It is certainly as radical. Whether or not one ends up agreeing with his point of view, one will find it impossible to forget, impossible to entirely discount, and it will change oneOs way of looking at God, and gods - and one's own consciousness.

STEPHEN KIERULFF, a clinical psychologist with offices in Santa Monica and Inglewood, California, is coauthor with Stanley Krippner of Becoming Psychic: Spiritual Lessons for Focusing Your Hidden Abilities, New Page Books, $14.99, Sept. 2004, ISBN 156414755X, available at discount at Amazon.com. Dr. Kierulff also wrote the novel Anima Twist (reviewed in the February/March 2004 AHP Perspective) under the pseudonym P. T. Jones, published by Feather Stone Press in 2003, $14.95, or at discount from Amazon.com. Visit featherstonepress.com.

POSITIVE ENERGY: 10
Extraordinary Prescriptions for
Transforming Fatigue, Stress, and
Fear into Vibrance, Strength, and
Love
BY JUDITH ORLOFF, M.D.
New York: Harmony Books, 2004,
ISBN: 0-609-61010-4.
Reviewed by Barbara Terao

Judith Orloff is an Energy Psychiatrist, meaning that she is a teacher and healer who pays attention to intuition and subtle energy as well as to medicine and psychology. In this book she combines these areas to help people live with more clarity and awareness, moving from stress and fear to vitality and greater harmony. This is no small task, and Orloff accomplishes it with originality, humor, helpful anecdotes, and engaging interviews with some well-known folks such as Rosa Parks (on love), Eve Enssler (on sexuality), and Wavy Gravy (on laughter).

Anyone living in these stressinducing times can benefit from the ten prescriptions in this book. Who wouldn't want to be more creative or to have a more heartcentered sex life? And is there anyone out there who hasn't wished for better ways to ward off energy vampires, those people who somehow manage to bring us down and extract our very life force? The suggestions and exercises in this book can be effective for all those seeking to take better care of themselves and have better relationships. Yet I was most awed by Orloff's consideration for empaths like herself, those who are particularly sensitive and intuitive Positive Energy is a hugely compassionate resource for such people.

An intuitive empath is "a person who's so sensitive that you often unknowingly absorb energy from others and are drained by it." Orloff further explains, "We each have our own energy styles. . . . My goal for patients and for you is to find a comfortable way of navigating life that balances vulnerability with emotional security." Orloff observes that it is sometimes difficult for highly sensitive people to separate themselves from the emotions and subtle energy of others, leading to physical, sexual, and psychological problems.

Orloff learned to cope with emotional overload through her own experiences. Her mother used to say: "Sweetheart, you're just overly sensitive." But Judith could not ignore her own inner signals, finding that "empathy can eat at you until you learn to work with it. Now that I have tools to center myself and not take on the world's woes, empathy has become a gift." Taking assessments of her own reactions to places and their "vibes" means that she chooses energy-compatible environments whenever possible. For instance, she would rather jog by the ocean than work out in a crowded gym, part of her third prescription of designing an energy-aware approach to diet, fitness, and health. This prescription is especially important given Orloff's assertion that: "Like it or not, empaths process all stress in their bodies, are more prone to take in a personal or global trauma's energetic residue. Vulnerable to negativity, whether miniscule or horrendous, many empaths have chronically low energy, a common complaint that baffles traditional physicians. The symptoms of intuitive overload include depression, psychosomatic complaints, and overeating."

It is a gift to her readers that Orloff shares her insights and prescriptions with us. She writes in a clear, lively, generous way, so that readers can gain practical knowledge for working with energy. Now and then she muddles her case by failing to explain herself, such as when she says that "subtle energy is ni to Native Americans, num to African shamans." Which Native Americans? Which Africans? They do not all speak the same language. This occasional sloppiness or overgeneralization can be easily forgiven if you, as I did, see yourself in this book and let Judith Orloff guide you to healthier, more effective ways of eating, exercising, working, playing, relating with others, and protecting yourself. Her work in Energy Psychiatry is bound to spark greater dialogue on ways to reclaim, nurture, and protect energetic power. As Caroline Myss says about this book, "It is destined to become a classic."

BARBARA WOLF TERAO, Ed.D. is a writer, mother, and Director of Of The Earth Institute, dedicated to enhancing intercultural and environmental learning.